The Faculty of Science recently hosted its annual Honours & Awards Ceremony over Zoom to celebrate the students, staff and faculty members who had received awards and scholarships for their teaching and research excellence, academic achievements, and extracurricular involvement.
The celebration recognized awards adjudicated from Sept. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021.
More than 110 people joined the event, which featured a keynote by alumnus J. Mark Lievonen (BBA ’79, MBA ’87, LLD [Hon.] ’15 ), former president of Sanofi Pasteur and current co-Chair of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force.
The ceremony kicked off with welcoming remarks from Mike Scheid, associate dean of students, and Rui Wang, dean of the Faculty of Science.
“Today, we recognize academic and research excellence in the Faculty of Science,” said Wang. “The awards, scholarships and honours you received in the past year are a testament to your commitment and hard work. This afternoon, we celebrate together and congratulate each other.”
The recipients of the Faculty’s Dean’s Special Recognition Award and the Excellence in Teaching and Research Awards were first announced, they are:
- Ashley Nahornick, educational development specialist, received the Dean’s Special Recognition Award for her outstanding support of teaching and curricular excellence across the Faculty.
- Professor Dawn Bazely, Department of Biology, for receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award in the Senior Tenure Stream Faculty category.
- Assistant Professor Andrew Skelton, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, for receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award in the Junior Tenure Stream Faculty category.
- Sessional Assistant Professor Tanya Da Sylva, Department of Biology, for receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award in the Non-Tenure Stream Faculty category.
- Laura Keane, PhD student in mathematics & statistics, for receiving the Richard Jarrell Excellence in Teaching at the Graduate Level Award.
- Jenna LeBlanc, PhD student in biology, for receiving the Richard Jarrell Excellence in Teaching at the Graduate Level Award.
- Associate Professor Sapna Sharma, Department of Biology, for receiving the Excellence in Research Awards in the Established Researcher category.
- Assistant Professor Raymond Kwong, Department of Biology, for receiving the Excellence in Research Awards in the Early Career Researcher category.
- Assistant Professor Conor Douglas, Department of Science & Technology Studies, for receiving the Excellence in Graduate Mentorship Award.
The ceremony continued with science faculty members and department chairs congratulating students and trainees for their hard work and achievements in receiving awards and scholarships during the 2020-21 academic year.
For instance, several prestigious postdoctoral fellowships were spotlighted, including the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships, which Mohammad Naderi and Vasily Panferov received. These fellowships provide funding to the very best applicants, nationally and internationally, to develop their leadership potential and to position them for success as research leaders of tomorrow.
In the graduate awards category, highlights included Christopher Cavanagh and Deniz Sadighbayan being congratulated for receiving the Elia Scholars Award, York University’s most prestigious graduate award for incoming domestic or international doctoral students. And, Georg Zoidl was congratulated for receiving the Nestmann Scholarship, which is awarded to graduate students entering or continuing in the Graduate Program of Biology whose research specializes in molecular biology or genetics.
In the undergraduate awards category, highlights included Katrina Carver and Quinton Weyrich being congratulated for receiving the Iristel Undergraduate Scholarship, established to reward academic performance and lab proficiency and to encourage students in their third and fourth year of study to pursue a career in optical physics or biophotonics. And, Muzi Li was congratulated for receiving an Alumni Award of Distinction, one of York’s most prestigious entrance scholarships.
Scheid concluded the ceremony by thanking everyone who had attended and all of the staff who helped support and execute the event.